Naftali Bennett has set a public test for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's UN speech on Thursday: declare Qatar an enemy state from the podium.
In a post on X, Bennett accused Doha of funding Hamas, celebrating the October 7 massacre, and hosting Hamas leaders. He said he would send the UN secretary-general and Security Council ambassadors a "Qatar File" documenting what he called Qatar's involvement in the attack. "Netanyahu and I are political opponents, but when Israel's security is on the line, Israelis rise above politics and unite," he wrote.
Bennett framed the speech as "the moment of truth," saying it will be judged not by boasts but by an explicit declaration that Qatar is an enemy state. Netanyahu has sharply criticized Doha in the past but has never formally designated it an enemy.
Qatar is also shadowing Netanyahu's own office. On Wednesday, his adviser Jonatan Urich filed a NIS 260,000 libel suit against Israel Hayom, reporter Bini Ashkenazi, and editor Omer Lachmanovitch. The suit concerns an August 9 report, citing a "security source," that Netanyahu's advisers leaked classified information to Qatar to smear Egypt.
Urich calls the report false and without basis. Ashkenazi responded that everything will be clarified in court.
The lawsuit is separate from the Qatargate criminal investigation, whose file was transferred to the State Attorney's Office in January.
Netanyahu is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. New York time, 9 p.m. in Israel, and then fly straight home.
